Depression Therapist Ham Lake MN

People are more aware than ever that depression is a legitimate illness, not a weakness of the mind or an inability to cope. It is as legitimate an illness as the flu. But even though there’s more awareness of the legitimacy of depression as an illness, there is still a persistent belief that depression is a form of deep sadness or a choice an individual makes to feel lousy. And there are those of us who lose patience with depressed people because we erroneously believe that the depressed person could simply decide to feel differently. Laurie Grengs, a depression therapist who serves Ham Lake, MN, understands better. She has treated a great many people for depression in her thirty five years of providing treatment.

Often lost in the public discussion of depression is the toll it takes physically on those who suffer from it. People who have not experienced depression, much less been diagnosed with it, have a hard time understanding that depression often causes actual, physical pain. And for people who have experienced depression that can result in the inability to perform normal daily functions like paying bills and keeping oneself clean. People who suffer from depression describe themselves as feeling a heaviness that prevents them from performing those daily tasks, which, for most people, require little thought or energy.

Depression Counseling Ham Lake

A question legitimately arises about where these feeling come from. What comes first—the symptoms of depression, or the depression itself, which causes the symptoms to appear worse? The truth is that it can be different for every person, but the simplest fact is that depression is a reality for those who experience it. A person who suffers a serious physical injury may become depressed from a prolonged period of physical pain. And a person who suffers from depression is also likely to be more susceptible to physical health-related problems. And the problems can feed off each other.

Even though we’ve made strides in our society around depression, it still has a long way to go. The subtle messages people suffering with depression receive from a social-media-driven world communicate that the world has little patience for those who can’t keep pace. The messages that communicate that the individual is feeling sad or is in need of a boost or even “just” dealing with depression (as though depression is a less legitimate illness) feed the feelings of inadequacy or insecurity that create patterns of pain that make depression insidiously difficult to overcome.

Finding Relief From Depression

But finding help from a qualified therapist such as Laurie Grengs truly can help the individual with depression change the patterns that lessen their quality of life. The work is hard, but it is ultimately valuable to the person who not only comes to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but begins to understand that they deserve to feel its warmth.

Call Laurie Grengs at 1-(877) 572-2326 to schedule an appointment. You do not have to battle depression alone.